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If you look at a microwave electronics design textbook, you’ll see a number of parameters that are used to describe N-port networks. S-parameters, ABCD parameters, and H-parameters–all have their place in PCB design and analysis. These days, many important concepts in analog signal integrity are now critical for determining digital signal integrity, and the analysis tools used by the microwave community must be transferred to the digital...

Over the last 20 years, electronic devices have become increasingly sophisticated. Less than two decades ago, just having a mobile phone to make calls was rare; today, our phones power our lives. To meet the growing demand for smartphone technology, technology has become faster, more functional, and intuitive. Improvements to the component base have streamlined processes while reducing manufacturing costs. Smartphones use higher-frequency...

Every so often, I receive an interesting question about routing, layout, signal integrity, or the like. I try to respond to these when I’m not too busy, but sometimes one of these catches my eye and I feel the need to get the answer out to more designers. Without further adieu, here’s a question I received about stripline vs. microstrip width required for controlled impedance. I have an inquiry about microstrip and stripline. Is it possible to...

Data rate and bandwidth are sometimes used interchangeably, thanks largely to advertising firms and the media, who turned an important technical term from analog circuit design into a buzzword. The word “bandwidth” is now misused to the point where it has unintentionally taken on a somewhat related meaning from ADC design. In PCB design and circuit design, bandwidth sometimes has a clear distinction that has nothing to do with data rate, and...

The first time I read about impulse response functions, it was in the context of stochastic calculus while working on a portfolio management paper. This was before I started working in the electronics industry. I didn’t go so deep as to extract impulse response functions to examine how sudden changes in asset prices are interrelated, but the underlying concept is extremely valuable for understanding physical systems. Once I started working on...

PCI-SIG has been busy pushing the limits on standardized data rates between processors and computer peripherals. While the standards group doesn’t have a direct hand in component development, the release of the PCIe 5.0 specification in 2019 and the upcoming release of the PCIe 6.0 specification in 2021 shows a clear intent to standardize peripherals for data-hungry applications. Some applications will inevitably include AI in the data center, 5G...

Differential pairs have helped solve some basic signal integrity problems, and modern CAD tools make them easy to design and route. However, differential pairs are not the cure-all for every signal integrity problem, despite their usefulness in suppressing common-mode noise at a low-level receiver. There is one question that always gets asked when discussing differential pair routing: do these traces need a ground plane? Sometimes, the answer to...

Some PCBs are simple enough that you don’t need multiple designers working on a large team. Design files basically come in two forms: the initial project files, and the final project files once the design is complete. The way my team works, we often receive some design files from a client to help us get started, and we have to manage everything ourselves after that. Any project can get very complex, and the PCB design team needs to track...

Ultra-high speeds on flex and rigid-flex boards are inevitable as these boards are finding greater use in advanced electronics. These systems also need ground layers for isolation, and for separating RF and digital references for wireless protocols. With high speeds and high frequencies comes the potential for signal integrity problems, many of which relate to the placement and geometry of the ground plane in a PCB. A common method for providing...